Rethinking rehabilitation

Embedding person-centredness

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The AUT Person-Centred Rehabilitation Research Centre (PCR)

is a transdisciplinary research centre based in the School of Allied Health

Our aims and purpose

Our core aim is to make a meaningful difference to the long-term health and well-being of people and whānau impacted by injury, illness, or disability through transformative, person-centred rehabilitation research and knowledge exchange.

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Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Practicings of Person-Centred Care in Physiotherapy
(Wiley, 2025-10-31) Hansen, Louise Søgaard; Fadyl, Joanna; Cummins, Christine; Terry, Gareth; Kayes, Nicola
This article explores the practices of person-centred care in physiotherapy by adopting a complexity-seeking approach. We acknowledge that person-centred care is contextual and produced through relationships, sociomaterial practices and institutional and organisational settings, thus recognising the agency of more-than-human actors. We draw on the concept of practicings, which refers to a constellation of what is said, materialised, routinised and practised. This framework enables us to explore the complex interplay and interrelatedness of factors that constitute person-centred care across various contexts, transcending micro and macro levels. By conducting a secondary analysis of texts from three qualitative studies from Denmark and Aotearoa New Zealand on person-centred care in physiotherapy, we argue that seemingly disciplinary and governing practices can also be understood as practices of person-centred care. Through the application of the practicings concept, we aim to advance sociological constructs of person-centred care. Focusing on the complex network of co-constituting forces allows for a more nuanced analysis of practices of person-centredness in physiotherapy, with applicability to other similar healthcare settings.
Access status: Open Access ,
Practical Recommendations to Attract and Retain Allied Health Professionals in Rural Health Settings
(James Cook University, 2025-02-05) George, Jane E; Kayes, Nicola; Larmer, Peter J
Introduction: The recruitment and retention of allied health professionals (AHPs) in rural and remote locations is a worldwide challenge. However, there has been limited investment in strategies specific to AHPs compared with their medicine and nursing counterparts. This is in part due to an absence of research seeking to understand the unique challenges and opportunities that exist for the allied health rural workforce that can underpin strategies and actions. To address this gap, we have recently undertaken research to discover what AHPs identify as the attractive aspects of living and working rurally.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Work of Well‐Being: How People Work to Support Their Well‐Being After Stroke
(Wiley, 2026-08-04) Ibell‐Roberts, Claire; Bright, Felicity
Introduction Stroke can have a range of impacts on a person's life. Previous research has highlighted the need for greater attention to well-being, with people with stroke reporting that well-being is not well addressed in stroke services and therefore remains an area of unmet need. While previous research has considered how services address well-being, this study focused on those with stroke, exploring the work they did to maintain and enhance their well-being while receiving care from stroke services. It also examined how stroke services appeared to influence this work. Materials and Methods Underpinned by Interpretive Description methodology, interviews were conducted with 37 people impacted by stroke (24 people with stroke, 13 family members) across the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Data were analysed using directed content analysis guided by Normalisation Process Theory. Results People described undertaking significant work to support their well-being whilst receiving care from stroke services. We identified six interwoven forms of work which involved ‘inward work’—sense-making, emotional work and reconnecting work—and ‘outward work’—navigating health services, advocating for needs and doing rehabilitation. All were influenced by a person's network of relationships. People impacted by stroke perceived that the depth of this work was unseen by health professionals and described how stroke services could act to either reduce or exacerbate the work that they were doing for their well-being. Conclusions These findings show how people actively work to sustain their well-being whilst receiving care from stroke services. By examining how stroke services influence this ‘well-being work’, we highlight areas where health services may focus efforts to support well-being. Health professionals can acknowledge the work that people are doing and foster the resources they already hold, such as supporting people to engage in roles, relationships, cultural practices and social contexts that support their well-being from early in care. By doing so, health professionals and service leaders may set a foundation to better support people's well-being both in the moment and in the long-term. Patient or Public Contribution People with stroke, family members, and people who provide support to people with stroke, and health professionals set priorities for this research. They advised on study conduct and have provided feedback on wider findings from the research.
Access status: Open Access ,
Most Systematic Reviews of Dry Needling for Musculoskeletal Pain Have High Risk of Bias: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews
(JOSPT Inc. d/b/a Movement Science Media, 2026-06-19) Jenkins, Luke; Scanlon, Evin; Verhagen, Arianne P; Nasser, Anthony; McCambridge, Alana; Overton, Mark; Stubbs, Peter W
<jats:p>OBJECTIVE: The primary aim was to evaluate the risk of bias (ROB) of systematic reviews on the effectiveness of dry needling in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The secondary aim was to summarize findings related to harms.</jats:p> <jats:p>DESIGN: Systematic review of systematic reviews</jats:p> <jats:p>LITERATURE SEARCH: Five databases were searched until December 2024.</jats:p> <jats:p>STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: Systematic reviews that compared dry needling to any intervention</jats:p> <jats:p>DATA SYNTHESIS: ROB was assessed using the ROB in Systematic reviews (ROBIS) tool. The type and frequency of harms reported in primary trials was extracted. A descriptive analysis was performed.</jats:p> <jats:p>RESULTS: A total of 5190 studies were identified with 38 reviews included. Reviews were published between 2009–2024. One review (3%) had low ROB and 31 reviews (82%) had high ROB. Five (13%) reviews were low risk for ‘Eligibility Criteria’, four (11%) for ‘Identification and Selection of Studies’, twelve (32%) for ‘Data collection and Appraisal’ and two (5%) were low risk for ‘Synthesis and Findings’. Twenty-one (55%) reviews reported on harms related to dry needling. When reported, harms were mostly minor and transitory (e.g., post-needling soreness). Moderate harms included syncope (4 patients), presentation to hospital with fever, chills and a systemic upset (1 patient), chest pain (1 patient) and severe pain (1 patient).</jats:p> <jats:p>CONCLUSION: Due to the high ROB in most systematic reviews, clear clinical recommendations for dry needling in the management of musculoskeletal pain cannot be confidently made. The inconsistent reporting of harms may result in their underestimation or overestimation.</jats:p>
Access status: Open Access ,
Advancing Engagement of People With Lived Experience of Stroke in Recovery and Rehabilitation Research: Consensus-based Core Recommendations From the Fourth Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable
(SAGE Publications, 2026-06-26) Lynch, Elizabeth; Bright, Felicity; Chamberlain, Saran; Adebajo, Adewale; Campbell, Pauline; Chen, Donna; English, Coralie Kym; Graham, Ian; Isaksen, Jytte; Manning, Molly X; Mohapatra, Sidhiprada; Nelson, Michelle; Nesbitt, Katie; Rackoll, Torsten; Thilarajah, Shamala; Zeiler, Steve; Kidd, Lisa
RATIONALE: There is a growing recognition of the importance of engaging with people with lived experience (PWLE) to support research relevance and impact. However, there is little specific guidance for stroke recovery and rehabilitation researchers about how best to engage with PWLE of stroke in research, who face additional barriers to engaging due to common post-stroke sequalae including communication and cognitive difficulties, sensory and perceptual impairments, emotional wellbeing, and fatigue. The aim of this Roundtable was to develop recommendations to support researchers to engage with PWLE of stroke in primary and secondary research conducted in laboratory, clinical, health system or community settings. METHODS: We convened an interdisciplinary, international taskforce comprising researchers and lived experience experts (n=16) to create recommendations to support researchers to engage with PWLE of stroke meaningfully and respectfully. Guided by priorities and key gaps identified by taskforce members, and underpinned by grey and published literature, we formed discrete workgroups to develop consensus-based recommendations and guidance documents addressing common barriers to engagement in stroke research. The recommendations and guides were reviewed, and consensus was reached during a 2-day hybrid in-person/online meeting of the taskforce. These were further refined through consultation with international experts in research engagement. RESULTS: We created the EMBED (Engaging Meaningfully to Build research with people with lived Experience to Drive improvements in stroke research) framework, consisting of five consensus recommendations: Select the engagement approach; Identify people to engage with; Embed accessible and inclusive ways of working; Support and strengthen accessibility and inclusivity; Report accessibility and inclusivity. Ten guidance documents provide practical support to researchers to engage with PWLE of stroke in all research settings. CONCLUSIONS: The EMBED framework provides researchers with pragmatic and structured support to engage with PWLE in stroke research.